Mathematics has always had a bad reputation when it comes to likeability and preference among students. For a large portion of middle and high school students, maths seems insurmountable and almost too difficult for comprehension at times. I remember when I was in high school, maths felt like gibberish and too complicated for me. Why is that?
Well, this problem is shared by millions of students across the world, and the fault lies with us for students and pupils! Our approach towards solving mathematical questions is very outdated in today’s day and age. In most schools, teachers are still using conventional methods for teaching mathematical problem-solving to students.
Misconceptions associated with mathematics:
Just like every subject, students possess certain grave misconceptions about maths. This has certainly led to the recoil of interest for maths among many school-goers. Here are the common misconceptions about maths which isn’t necessarily true.
- Some believe that mathematical problems are very hard to solve due to conceptual issues. This notion is absolutely false. Maths is composed of logical statements and assertions.
- Many teachers around the world tend to impose abulk amount of homework as exercises on students. This doesn’t help a learner gain interest in the subject.
- Although it is generally true that higher mathematics require a lot of focus and practice, middle or high school syllabus doesn’t come close to it in any shape or form.
- An important reason as to why people lose interest while learning maths is that it seems very theoretical at times, without any practical analogy to fall back on.
- Maths might seem difficult for an average school-goer, but many don’t recognize its utility in everyday life. Sure, no one is going to ask you about calculus in your everyday life, but its application is quite useful for anyone to know in their day-to-day chores.
Innovative techniques for beginners
If you are a beginner in preliminary mathematics, then do not start your learning by conventional methods. In fact, in this day and age of modern technology, you can certainly learn in a varied number of ways. Here are some innovative techniques for beginners to start with.
- Visualization: Start with an absolute visualization of your problem. Often maths problems can be difficult to understand in the first go. Don’t worry about that – learn to visualize your problems. It will result in a simplified version in your mind, and then you can start to solve it.
- Technology: Do not shy away from using digital technology to assist you in solving maths problems. Even though classical maths is usually limited to pen and paper, you do not have to limit yourself to that medium only. Online assists and help are readily available on every subject these days. Use them to your advantage.
- Perception: Having a clear and complete perception of the problem is very crucial in solving any kind of mathematical problem. So start by informing yourself about the concerned problem, and then proceed on to solving it. Always remember that you can only solve a problem if you know it well.
- Practice: Last but definitely not the least; anything is better with a little practice. Maths is no exception to that rule. If you practice your problems, they become easy over time. There is no shortcut to practice, but you can always improve your efficiency with some innovative techniques mentioned above.
How to deal with applied mathematics’ problems
Now, there is something very special about maths. It is not limited to one particular subject. In fact, if you are a basic science student, you will encounter maths problems in almost every subject you study, except in compulsory English and preliminary Biology classes.
Mathematics is the language of science, so you have to acquaint yourself with applied maths problems as well in physics and chemistry. Here are some innovative ideas that you can make use of to ease this difficult process. If you want to read about it in detail, you can also check out our guide to having problems with physics? Now no more a problem.
- Understanding the constraints of an applied maths question is very important. What is a constraint? Well, a constraint is any kind of physical or logical condition which has been imposed upon the question to influence its solution. Physical maths questions are filled with constraints, and understanding them properly greatly affects your ability to solve them.
- Since applied maths questions are a bit easier to visualize, you should definitely take theassistance of online courses and lectures to improve your out-of-school logical understanding.
- Teachers and parents should definitely encourage their pupils to learn through experience, rather than jotting down questions from a blackboard. It was difficult for earlier generations, but today’s students have access to loads and loads of assistance materials which help them immensely.
- The calculation is a very crucial part of learning maths. As a student, you have to be able to calculate quickly, and for that, you need practice. There is no getting around to it. Again, try to make your learning interesting and you will have no trouble understanding whatsoever.
Quick tips for improving your problem-solving ability
Throughout this article, I have explained various innovative and new techniques you can use to make sure that maths is fun and easy. However if you are scrounging for last-minute tips before your examinations, here are some of them. These are quick fixes which you can use from time to time. Check them out:
- Use help whenever you are stuck with a particular problem. Do not waste your entire time on solving one problem when you can simply use thehelp.
- Manage your time efficiently. Practice means going through all potentially important portions, and not wasting all of it on a small portion of problems.
- Make use of online courses and tutorials. With the advent of digital media, learning is easier than ever. Use various online resources to improve your skills and develop better ability when it comes to problem-solving.
- Learn various applications of the problem you are dealing with. By doing that, you can certainly use your knowledge in your day-to-day activities, and in this way, you would no longer feel alienated by the theoretical nature of maths.
I hope that these quick tips are helpful for you to deal with your presumed boredom of maths. Maths is not boring at all if you make it interesting for yourself in the long run. Use of modern technology and digital media certainly helps that process. Always remember to have fun while studying, and you will learn faster.